Nigeria to benefit from UK’s £22m capacity for workers

Nigeria is to benefit from United Kingdom’s £22 million new investment to build cybersecurity resilience in developing countries globally, particularly Africa and Indo-Pacific.

UK’s Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, who made the announcement at the National Cyber Security Centre’s CYBERUK conference, yesterday, stressed that the British government would spend about £3 million of the fund to help the INTERPOL set up a new team that could fight cybercrime in Africa.

Raab said the new INTERPOL desk would work across Nigeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya and Rwanda creating a regional strategy to support joint operations against cybercrime and strengthening African states’ capability to combat the menace and perpetrators.

Since 2018, the UK has been actively partnering with Nigeria to support the development of cybersecurity policies and strategies. Both countries share an ambition to create a safe and secure digital community that provides opportunities for Nigerian citizens and promotes peaceful engagement in cyberspace that enhances national prosperity.

The launch, in February this year by President Buhari of the new Nigerian National Cyber Security Policy and Strategy (NCPS) 2021, followed well-targeted UK-funded technical assistance through the European nation’s Digital Access Programme.

The new development is a part of the efforts to build global cyber resilience.

Raab said the UK sees Nigeria and Africa as important partners, stressing that with some of the fastest-growing economies in the world and Africa a target for cybercriminals.

He pointed out that by creating a central coordination desk in INTERPOL where enforcement could be observed regionally, UK hoped to improve collaboration across borders to advance intelligence-sharing and frustrate the perpetrators.

The Foreign Secretary said the UK wanted to act as a responsible cyber power and work with other countries to shape cyberspace in “line with our values, the UK is also making around £22 million of new investment available to support capacity building in cybersecurity for developing countries and globally.”

He continued: “We are working with like-minded partners to make sure that the international order that governs cyber activity is fit for purpose. Our aim should be to create a cyberspace that is free, open, peaceful and secure for all countries and people.

“We want to see international law respected in cyberspace, just like anywhere else. And we need to show how the rules apply to these changes in technology, the changes in threats and the systemic attempts to render the internet a lawless space,” Raab stated.